What's In A Kiss?
by tribalbutterfly
Summary: COMPLETE! Hurt & confused, Kagome runs away to her time without telling Inuyasha that she's leaving. Once there, she calls Hojo to help her study for an important exam, which gives Hojo the perfect opportunity to confess his feelings to her. How does Kagome take it? And what is Inuyasha's reaction to a tender late night moment between Kagome & Hojo? M - Language
1. Take A Chance On A Future Love?

Okay….here goes….first fanfic since 2004….Ever realized how life suddenly springs itself on you and simple pleasures like creating stories whether it's by the written (typed) word or through painting are somehow forced to take a backseat as it seems as if the muse has deserted you? Or maybe it's because I didn't find a series that actually inspired me enough to return to the world of writing until now….Whatever the case, I hope you guys enjoy!

P.S. I'm sorry the text & paragraphs are so jumbled...I'm back on training wheels here lol, so any tips on getting better spacing are greatly appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS WITHIN THIS STORY THAT APPEAR IN THE ANIME OR MANGA.

***Chapter 1***

* * *

'Inuyasha! OUSW-Mmmpphhh!' Kagome's voice was abruptly cut off by a clawed hand being placed over her mouth.

'Don't even fucking THINK about it bitch,' a low voice hissed in her ear. The silver haired hanyou narrowed his eyes at her and continued, 'If you don't want me to gag you for the rest of the night, I want you to give me your solemn promise that when I remove my hand, you will not use that fucking command and that we can fucking talk about why it is that you've gone fucking crazy on me without you fucking 'ouswari-ing' me into the fucking ninth circle of fucking hell.'

'_Eeeep!_' Kagome thought. Normally Inuyasha would yell at her and rant and rave, but this reaction from him, quiet and yes, deadly, had goosebumps rising on the back of her neck. '_Maybe things have gone a little too far this time….'_

***Earlier that day***

'Oi, Kagome.'

'Hi Inuyasha! What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be at the lake fishing with Miroku & Shippo?' Kagome looked up from her magazine and smiled at the half demon in the tree above her.

'Keh,' he scoffed. 'I could have caught twenty fish in the time they're taking to catch even one. In fact,' he grinned, 'I DID catch twenty and left them with the monk & the runt to clean for dinner.' His slight grin widened and Kagome caught her breath at how carefree and appealing he looked at that moment. Inuyasha's keen hearing picked up the slight hitch in her breathing and he frowned at her. 'Something wrong?'

Kagome felt a blush coming on and she quickly looked down at her magazine to disguise it. 'Wrong?' she laughed lightly. 'Of course not…I was just wondering if you shouldn't have stayed and helped them clean the fish, that's all.'

Inuyasha stared down at the girl's head. 'Excuse me?'

'Well, it does seem as if you're leaving them with a lot of work, Inuyasha,' she pointed out.

'And it wasn't a lot of work to catch twenty fish, Ka-go-me?' he gritted out.

'You DID say that you caught the fish a lot faster than they could, Inu-ya-sha.'

'Just because I did it faster, didn't make it any easier, y'know.'

'Whatever,' she replied. Still pretending to focus on her magazine, she heard the rustle of the leaves as he stood up, poised to spring away. She let out a silent sigh as her hanyou leapt to a neighbouring tree and disappeared into the forest.

Dropping all feigned interest in the article, she rolled over onto her back and stared up at the sky. It was getting harder and harder to keep her emotions and feelings towards the golden-eyed man in check. She was so scared of the way she felt and constantly sniped and snapped at him in order to keep him at a safe distance from her.

'_What am I going to do?'_ she wondered. _'How much longer can I take this torture for?'_

She sighed and blinked back the tears burning in her eyes. Getting to her feet, she began gathering her belongings and stuffing them into her backpack. 'I need some time alone,' she whispered almost inaudibly. 'I think I should go back home for a while…nothing's ever going to change between him & i. Plus I have that huge Geometry exam next week and I haven't even begun studying for it across here because I don't even have all of the notes I need.' Deep down she knew that she was only using the test as an excuse for running away, that she would gladly miss a thousand tests to see Inuyasha look at her with even half of the love she felt for him, but she wasn't ready to admit the truth as yet…not even to herself.

Rummaging through the contents of her bag, she pulled out a notebook, pen and tape. She didn't want to take the chance of Inuyasha coming back while she was waiting for Miroku, Shippo, Sango or Kirara to return, but she also didn't want them to come back and worry when they found a deserted campsite. Quickly, she scribbled a note and stuck it to the tree she was standing under.

'_Guys, I'm returning home for a bit. I have some important exams coming up and I can't study for them properly in this era since I need to get help from one of my friends due to the number of classes I've been missing. See you all soon, Kagome.'_

After ensuring that she left enough snacks and other supplies to last for a few days, Kagome ran through the forest with a speed that would have made even Inuyasha blink twice, not pausing until she arrived at the Bone Eater's Well. She quickly hopped over the edge and plunged into the waiting darkness.

***Present time***

'It's eleven thirty already? I completely lost track of time!' Kagome exclaimed as she caught sight of the kitchen clock. She cast a guilty look at the tall brown haired boy sitting on the chair to her left. 'I'm so sorry Hojo. I've completely monopolized your Saturday night…and on something as gross as Geometry to make matters worse. If it's any consolation though, I think I'm pretty much sure that I've grasped everything that you've shown me. You're a very good teacher!'

Hojo straightened and stretched slightly. 'Think nothing of it. Higurashi. I'm more than happy to help you out. I know how important these exams are and you have been missing a lot of classes due to your illnesses. Besides,' his voice softened as he turned to face her fully, 'I'm sure that by now you know how I feel about you.'

Kagome's eyes widened. At that moment, she was suddenly reminded that when she had arrived home, she had found a note on the kitchen table letting her know that her entire family, including the cat Buyo, was out of town until the following weekend. Back then, she had grasped at the opportunity to have uninterrupted study time, but when she called her friends to get the missing notes, she was informed by their mothers that they were all spending the weekend at the beach. At wits end, she was frantically searching through her cell phone contacts, when she came across Hojo's name. Grasping at straws, she dialed his number and explained the situation to him. Without hesitation, he offered to come over and help her and she had gratefully accepted. He had arrived at two o'clock in the afternoon and they worked non-stop, only pausing to eat a quick dinner that Kagome had fixed.

'_Uh-oh,' _she thought, struck speechless by his comment.

Hojo took her silence to mean consent and he smiled as he placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face upwards. 'You said I was a good teacher, just now didn't you? Let's see if you can learn something else from me…..' His lips began descending slowly, giving Kagome sufficient time to stop him if she wanted to.

Kagome stared at him as his mouth came closer and closer to hers. She had been kissed only once before and that was by Inuyasha. That kiss in Kaguya's palace ran through her mind as if on fast forward, rough at first, the fangs of Inuyasha's youkai form cutting into her bottom lip, but as he reverted to his hanyou form, the kiss had gentled and the feeling of him reciprocating had been one of the most wonderful moments of her life. Too soon the kiss had ended…and later on, he had spoiled the entire experience by claiming that he didn't want to kiss her and that she was the one who had forced herself on him.

'_Why am I thinking of Inuyasha at a time like this?' _Kagome berated herself. _'It's not as if he cares about me anyway. In fact, right now, he's most likely running off to meet Kikyou somewhere. I need to begin thinking of KAGOME now and stop living my life as someone's substitute for the person who they really love.' _

With that thought, Kagome finally closed her eyes as Hojo's lips covered her own.


	2. It's You, Kagome

***Chapter 2***

**A/N – No Lemon – It just wasn't feeling right for this story somehow**

The kiss was horrible.

It had nothing to do with Hojo's technique, his breath actually smelled pretty good, he wasn't sloppy and to give him credit, his hand stayed under her chin the entire time.

But he wasn't Inuyasha. He didn't make her heart race or her knees weak. He didn't take her spirit soaring until she felt as if she would never come back to reality.

Kagome tried, she really did. Upon realizing that Hojo would only go as far as she lead, she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him in closer, deepening the kiss. With a murmur of surprise, he did as she silently commanded, his arms sliding around her waist. Kagome tilted her head to allow him better access and as she did so, she thought she heard a feral growl coming from behind her.

With a gasp, she broke the kiss and ran to the window, pushing open the glass and peering out into the darkness outside.

'Inuyasha?' she called out, straining both her eyes and ears for a sign of a red robe or silver hair. She scanned the surrounding area almost feverishly; completely unaware that Hojo had drawn near until she felt his hands on her shoulders. She stiffened and explained, 'I heard a growl….I-I thought it might have been a stray d-dog…..'

'Like that one?' Hojo asked gently, pointing to a dark figure that slipped briefly into the pool of light that the open window threw into the garden. The animal in question paused briefly to look at the couple and growled at them before running off into the night.

Kagome's shoulders slumped and tears threatened her vision. 'Y-yea….I guess so.' Her voice cracked on the last word.

Ever so gently, Hojo turned her around to face him. Kagome averted her eyes but he placed a hand on her cheek and made her look directly at him. Brown eyes met brown eyes and he smiled sadly as a tear escaped, running down her cheek.

Drawing her away from the window, he pulled it closed and guided her to the sofa. There they sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own world. Hojo broke the quiet first.

'I never really stood a chance, did I Kagome?'

Startled, her eyes once more flew up to meet his. He took her hands in his and continued, his voice barely above a whisper, 'You're in love with him, aren't you? This Inuyasha?'

Kagome wanted to deny it….she wanted to scream out that no, she didn't love him, that her heart was free to make a future with Hojo, that she wanted HOJO not Inuyasha but when she opened her mouth, the words couldn't get past the lump in her throat. She bowed her head, her long, glossy hair falling like a curtain of silk to obscure her features.

'Yes, I do,' she replied in a small voice, 'but he doesn't love me in return. I'm sorry Hojo….it was wrong of me to lead you on like that. You're such a wonderful person and you've been nothing short of incredible to me but…'

'Shhhhhh…..' Hojo placed a finger on her lips cutting off her apologies. 'It's okay, Kagome. We can't force others to love us. I can't force you to love me and I know that if you were to be with me, I'd want it to be wholly and without the shadow of another man in your eyes and heart.' He leaned in one last time and gave her a lingering kiss, one that said goodbye more clearly than words ever could have. 'I can see myself out,' he smiled after pulling away from her. 'See you soon Kagome.'

'Goodbye, Hojo,' Kagome replied softly.

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After locking the doors and turning off the lights in the house, Kagome wearily trudged up the stairs to the bathroom. There, she listlessly stripped off the clothes that she had on for the entire day and ran a hot shower. She stayed under the pounding spray until her skin started to prune, then she quickly washed her hair and rinsed the soap off her body. Stepping out of the shower, she toweled her skin dry and rubbed the excess water off her hair, before slipping on her favourite robe – an incredibly feminine pink garment that shimmered whenever she moved and molded to her body like a second skin.

She paused on the way out of the door and wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror to gaze at her reflection. Wide, haunted chocolate brown eyes framed with thick, long lashes, stared back at her from a heart shaped face that was too pale by far. Even the flush put on her cheeks by the heat of the water in the shower couldn't detract from that. Her lips were pink and swollen slightly from Hojo's kisses and tears once more blurred her vision as the traitorous thought that it should have been Inuyasha's kisses flitted through her mind.

Angrily, she dashed the tears away and stormed into her bedroom declaring to the house at large, 'I do NOT want Inuyasha! He's rude and uncivilized and doesn't give a damn about me and I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT HIM EITH-'

Her stunned gaze took in the sight of flashing golden eyes and silver hair blowing in the breeze caused by her open bedroom window. That's when she panicked.

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'Inuyasha! OUSW-Mmmpphhh!' Kagome's voice was abruptly cut off by a clawed hand being placed over her mouth.

'Don't even fucking THINK about it bitch,' a low voice hissed in her ear. The silver haired hanyou narrowed his eyes at her and continued, 'If you don't want me to gag you for the rest of the night, I want you to give me your solemn promise that when I remove my hand, you will not use that fucking command and that we can fucking talk about why it is that you've gone fucking crazy on me without you fucking 'ouswari-ing' me into the fucking ninth circle of fucking hell.'

'_Eeeep!_' Kagome thought. Normally Inuyasha would yell at her and rant and rave, but this reaction from him, quiet and yes, deadly, had goosebumps rising on the back of her neck. '_Maybe things have gone a little too far this time….'_

She nodded in compliance and he slowly removed his hand. She sighed and rubbed her temple, feeling the start of a headache. 'Why are you here, Inuyasha?'

'You left,' he snarled. 'You left without a word to myself or anyone else. Do you know the hell that you put us through Kagome? Or were you so much in a hurry to run back to your lover boy here that you couldn't wait another minute?'

'I left a note,' she protested. 'I stuck it up on the tree.'

'Ah yes,' he sneered, 'your note. The note that blew away in the wind. The note that IF we had found would have saved us four hours of frantically searching for you in the pouring rain that began not long after your departure. The note that would have saved Shippo from having what I think you would call a complete breakdown. The note that was so drenched by the time I found it caught in a shrub, that it was a miracle that I was able to even read the words 'home' and 'Kagome'' Inuyasha's eyes were flashing with rage at this point, all hints of the brown flecks swallowed up by the intense gold but his voice never raised above that low, throaty growl. 'I could fucking kill you for this Kagome,'

It was as if that last sentence broke the dam that had been containing her flood of emotions.

'Then why don't you?' she cried. 'Why don't you kill me and move on with your life, Inuyasha?' Her trembling fingers undid the belt of her robe and she let the garment gape open, uncaring of the stunned expression in the half-demon's eyes. 'Here's my heart…one slash from your claws should rip it out….go ahead…I dare you.'

'Kagome, what the hell is wrong with you?' Inuyasha shot back, more shocked than he'd ever been in life. He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. 'What are you trying to do to us?'

'US?' she scoffed, 'US? There is no 'us'. No Inuyasha and Kagome….there never has and never will be….it's always been Inuyasha and Kikyou….and so it will remain.'

'Kikyou?' Inuyasha cocked his head to the side and gave her a long, considering stare. 'Is this because of Kikyou?'

'Who else?' she replied bitterly. She chose that moment to look down at her feet and as a result, missed the slight smile that curled the corners of his lips and the softening of his gaze.

'You stupid wench,' he murmured. Her body stiffened in outrage as she heard his comment and she threw back her head, ready to deliver a blistering retort.

It never came.

Inuyasha captured her lips in a heated kiss that instantly caused her knees to buckle. Desperately, she grabbed at the front of his robe and heard him chuckle as his strong arms encircled her back, only to be buried in the still damp waves of hair falling down to her waist. Still kissing her, he took two steps forward until her back was against the bedroom wall and he was pressed flush against her. Over and over, his lips claimed hers, tongues tangling, until she was breathless. Ever so slowly, and far too soon, he broke the kiss, nipping at her bottom lip and then placing his hands on either side of the wall, framing her face, so that she was effectively trapped.

Kagome's eyes fluttered open, the rich depths hazy with desire. She had no idea how she looked to the man staring down at her, with her flushed skin, dreamy eyes, tousled curls and kiss swollen lips. And her SCENT….he felt his own knees weaken a bit as the scent of her shampoo and clean skin mixed with her arousal, surrounded him. With a groan, he leaned his forehead against hers.

'Gods, Kagome,' he breathed. 'What are you doing to me?'

She looked up at him, desire fading as she recalled that he was still in love with someone else. Futilely, she pushed at his chest. 'Let me go Inuyasha. Just please, let me go,' she pleaded.

'Never.' He raised his forehead, his eyes glittering with a feverish emotion that she could not identify. 'You are mine. You will always be mine. Haven't you figured that out by now, you little twit? I live for you, I breathe for you. You are the person that I've sworn to protect, even if it costs me my life. What more must I do, Kagome? What more do you want from me?'

'But Kikyou,' she began hesitantly.

'Is part of my life…..part of my PAST. I have an obligation to her and I promised to fulfill it. I owe her that much at least. But YOU,' he kissed her forehead, before once more placing his own upon hers. 'YOU, Kagome, are my FUTURE. You are the one I want to wake up to every morning, it's you who I see when I picture myself ten, twenty, a hundred years from now. You are the person who accepted me for who I am, who put total faith and trust in me, who brought friendship, laughter and love into my life…a life that was so dark and lonely. How could I not love you, Kagome?'

Kagome felt as if a burden had been lifted from her soul. She looked into his beloved face and gave him a dazzling smile as she tiptoed to give him a long, lingering kiss that had them both breathing hard. 'I love you so much, it scares me sometimes,' she whispered.

Inuyasha held her close, his heart pounding as he thought about just how easy it could have been to lose her. Then in the distance, a dog barked and he remembered something he had witnessed earlier on.

'WENCH!' He roared.

Kagome jumped, startled. 'What now?' she asked bewildered.

'You KISSED that-that…..spineless weakling from your school!' he yelled, his face turning a fine shade of red in fury.

'It didn't mean anything, Inuyasha. I was trying to see if I could forget you and move on,' she explained. Seeing that his ire increased even more with that statement, she hurried on, 'but he left me cold. One touch of your lips, a simple caress from your hands, set me afire more than he could ever do in a million years. I was missing you the entire time.'

Inuyasha managed to clamp down on his temper as she spoke and when she finished, he swallowed his pride and anger that demanded he hunt down the male who had the audacity to lay hands on _his_ mate and tear him into shreds. Instead, he allowed her to lead him to her bed, where he pulled her into a tight embrace and listened to the soothing sound of her heartbeat. Soon, the events of the day began to take a toll on the couple and exhaustion set in, causing Kagome to yawn widely and Inuyasha to grin as he pulled the comforter over them both.

Before sleep claimed him however, he remembered one final thing he had to say to her. 'Kagome?' he drawled, his mouth brushing her ear and making her shiver.

'Mmmmmmmm?' she replied, barely awake enough to form a coherent reply.

'If I ever see or smell that Homo classmate around you again, I'll rip his face off and feed it to him k?'

'It's HOJO, you jackass…..!'

THE END


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